Plastic closures formed from suitable polymeric materials have met with widespread acceptance in the marketplace, such as for use in bottles and like containers, including use on both carbonated and non-carbonated beverages. Closures of this nature can be efficiently formed by compression molding or injection molding.
For some applications, it is desirable to provide a closure of this nature with a double-wall configuration, that is, a configuration including an inner skirt portion for engagement with an associated container, and an outer skirt portion to facilitate convenient manipulation by consumers. Heretofore, such double-wall closures have typically been used in conjunction with induction-heated foil seals for sealing the contents of the associated container. However, experience has shown that consumers can find such induction seals difficult to manipulate and remove, particularly older consumers who may lack manual dexterity.
Additionally, the process of heating the foil seal to adhere to the container can undesirably result in distortion of the top sealing surface of the container. This can negatively impact resealing of the container, upon reapplication of the closure thereto, particularly if the container is not oriented in an upright position.
Moreover, beverage bottlers have found that such foil seal liners can be difficult to sterilize, and cannot be readily sterilized online in aseptic applications. Because the foil liner requires a secondary heating system to create the hermetic seal between the liner and the associated container, use of such foil liners undesirably adds to the cost of the bottling process.
The present invention contemplates a double-wall container configuration which facilitates convenient use by consumers, and which is configured to permit in-shell formation of a sealing liner, obviating the need for a typical induction foil seal.